Gun Review: .223 Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle

The Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle, a concept envisioned by Col. Jeff Cooper, is reintroduced as a do-it-all shooter in another versatile caliber.

The 16.1-inch barrel wears a flash hider that comes off, making room for other barrel attachments. Notice the black blade front sight that is well protected. Author photo

Consider this: After getting a rough zero through an extended eye relief scope mounted on Ruger’s new version of the Gunsite Scout rifle chambered in .223 Remington, I leveled it at a couple of clay trap targets at 200 yards and what I didn’t hit, the misses were so close as to be negligible had I been shooting at a coyote or anything bigger.

That’s one very good rifle. Originally introduced in .308 Winchester, as the late Col. Jeff Cooper envisioned this concept, the Scout, as Cooper dubbed his rifle, is a short-action model on which a long eye relief scope is mounted just ahead of the action. It was and remains a good idea, but just because the original concept was a .30-caliber model doesn’t mean that is chiseled in stone.

Let’s be honest. The .223 Rem. isn’t my first choice for a defensive or offensive rifle caliber, but it’s not too shabby for urban challenges or rural survival. It shoots flat and accurately, has very light recoil, ammunition can be found just about anywhere, and somebody who knows what he’s doing can neck-break deer-sized game all day with the right load. Against predators, the .223 is devastating, and I doubt anyone could give a reasonable estimate on the number of prairie dogs, rock chucks and other varmints that have been put away with those little bullets. It has also been proven in combat as a fight stopper.

The Scout Rifle Concept

My test model had a matte black finish on the 16.1-inch medium contour barrel and receiver, a single 10-round magazine that proved itself to be tough as nails, a black laminate stock with QD sling swivel studs and a straight comb and a Mini-14-style protected-post front sight and adjustable ghost ring rear.

That rear sight may be removed to mount a scope in the conventional over-the-action position, and Ruger supplied the rings to accomplish that task. They fit into the integral scope mounts that are machined into the steel receiver. There are a total of four models: black matte and stainless are available for both left- and right-handed shooters.

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The one-piece stainless steel bolt contrasts handsomely with the matte black finish, and the bolt head is smooth to allow for fast cycling. Ruger designers also included a three-position safety that works smoothly with a positive click. It also comes with a Picatinny-style rail mounted ahead of the action, holding true to Cooper’s original concept.

The barrel is cut with six lands and grooves on a 1:8 right-hand twist and ends with a flash suppressor. The flash suppressor can be removed, exposing the ½-inch 28 threads so other accessories can be mounted. Overall, the rifle hits the scale at just over 7 pounds. That may seem on the heavy side, especially among folks who like the AR-type platform to launch .223 Rem. bullets, but this is one tough little bolt-action carbine that could survive a catastrophe and still deliver the goods. It bounced around in my pickup for a few days while driving off road and was no worse for wear.

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Ruger mounted a nice, thick, soft rubber recoil pad on the butt and supplies three 1/2-inch spacers to adjust the stock to an individual’s length of pull preference, from 123⁄4 inches to 141⁄4 inches. That puts the overall length from 37 to 381⁄2 inches. It’s also got a tough glass-reinforced trigger guard and Mini-14-type paddle magazine release, and the stock is checkered on the curved grip and forend.

Out-of-the Box Accuracy

The black laminate stock is rugged and appears to have something of an urban camo appearance. Ruger fits this rifle with a thick recoil pad. Author photo

During my first range session, I used the metallic sights exclusively. Right out of the box, I put several rounds into the X-ring in tight little groups. That got my attention, so I stuck on a Bushnell long-eye relief scope I’ve had for a couple of years, returned to the range, did a rough adjustment at close range and knowing how flat the .223 shoots, put the crosshairs on a couple of clays that someone had stuck in the sand on the 200-yard berm.

Cracking those clays came as a bit of a surprise, even with a flat-shooting round like the .223. I wish I’d had a more powerful scope on the rifle just to see how precise I could make those 200-yard shots.

On a couple of occasions, when chambering a fresh round, it did feel as though the cartridge hung up a bit, but I’ll chalk that up to the newness of the rifle.

The rest of the time, it ran like a Benz. It has a Mauser-type controlled round feed extractor and fixed blade ejector. Trigger let-off in my test gun was crisp and clean. I could not detect any creep. Off a sandbag rest, the Scout was as steady a platform as any rifle I’ve ever fired, including my personal guns.

What exactly is Ruger’s Gunsite Scout rifle? It’s a serious tool, not some toy for would-be zombie killers. Capable of 200-yard accuracy with the bare minimum of scope fine-tuning, this should be welcomed by anyone who likes the Scout concept but favors the far lighter recoil of the .223 round. In an emergency, one could be in far worse shape than to be equipped with the Ruger Gunsite Scout in .223/5.56mm. This rifle could easily ride around in the back of a pickup or SUV, or in a saddle scabbard, and it would be ready for action at a moment’s notice.

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Dave Workman is an author, senior editor of Gun Week, communications director for the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, award-winning outdoor writer, former member of the NRA Board of Directors.

2 COMMENTS

I too have a Ruger Scout but unlike the comments by Mike above my rifle is a tac driver right out of the box. Not wanting the forward mounted scope i removed the rail and mounted a Tru Glo luminated 3×9 scope in the conventional manner for shots at Texas pigs in low light conditions. Sighting in was easy with the rifle producing MOA groups from a warm barrel. Everything functions as expected on my rifle with a butter smooth action loading Winchester premium 55 gr cartridges that put a pig down with a single shot through the shoulder. My complaint with the rifle is the magazine that is designed for combat conditions, the heavy and sturdy .308 steel mag is used with a plastic insert for the .223 and loads ten rounds. Way overkill for my uses, too bad Ruger did not design the rifle to take P mags, instead the $75 mag is too long and heavy when shooting from a blind or in the field. The mag manufacturer responded to my inquiry for a five round magazine ( i would prefer polymere) pricing it at $76 plus $15 bucks shipping…..ain’t no way ! There are poly mags for the .308 maybe soon they will include the .223.

I own a scout. The gun out of the box does not work ! The #2 round I fired struck in the chamber . The first 30 rounds I fired would not eject right , bolt does not work correctly . bolt will not cycle . Sent gun back to ruger AND IT CAME BACK AS BAD AS THE FIRST TIME ! NOW IT HAS GONE BACK 3 TIMES .Called Gunsite academy and talked to a gunsmith there” quote” they are aware of all failures of this gun ! please call them to confirm my statement. this gun is not safe it is not any good the design is false . my name is mike day and I would be happy to tell anyone about this junk gun and “ RUGERS” poor customer service !!!! my email is [email protected]